Grievances/ Dispute Policy
Grievances/ Dispute Policy
Auston adopts the following work flow for effective and timely resolutions of grievances and disputes:
Grievances Policy
Auston Institute shall address students’ complaints in an objective, fair and reasonable manner within 21 working days.
All discussion of grievances will be confined to staff that can assist their resolution. Any form
of complaint will, if possible be resolved quickly at the lowest level to avoid any unnecessary escalation.
Dispute Policy
Escalation
Dispute resolution within Auston Institute shall not be escalated to a higher level if the problem may be solved at the earliest possible stage. Escalation is sequenced from internal and minor to external and major in the order of counseling, negotiation, mediation, arbitration and finally litigation.
Students’ Benefit of the Doubt
In the event that the validity of a complaint may not be objectively established within 5 working days or otherwise, Auston Institute shall adopt the understanding that the student is correct and proper investigations will ensue.
Recourse
In the event that the students complaint has been investigated and Auston Institute has reached a final stance, such stance will be made known explicitly to the student with a relevant explanation by the Student Services, in writing and on official notice. In such cases, students may opt to seek recourse through opting for internal or external escalation.
Continuous Improvement
In the event that complaints arise from process flows or recurring activities of the school, a review committee will be formed to review the process in question immediately following investigation but no later than the next process recurrence (where possible).
Information Maintenance
All and any details discovered during the investigation will be maintained in an investigation report or file and maintained with the student’s personal file. Information Sharing
Details discovered during the investigation will be shared between members of front-line staff for knowledge maintenance.
Confidentiality
Regardless of the nature of the investigation, details revealed during the process are to be kept confidential at all times between the school and the student. Third-parties will not be involved until deemed necessary by the above process flow.
